The White House said that President Donald Trump will sign a new Presidential Memorandum later today. The main aim of the memorandum is to stop illegal immigrants from getting benefits under the Social Security Act.
Social Security trust fund shortage
This announcement comes as the Social Security Administration program is facing a serious money shortage problem, according to the latest Social Security trustees report. The report says the program could run out of enough funds and become insolvent by the end of 2032 if no action is taken. If this happens, people receiving Social Security may see their monthly payments reduced by about 22%
A similar memorandum on this issue was already signed last year on April 17, 2025, which also focused on preventing illegal aliens from receiving Social Security Act benefits. The previous memorandum orders SSA to take strong steps to stop illegal aliens and other ineligible people from getting benefits.
Previous SSA memorandum actions
One key step mentioned on the SSA release was to expand fraud investigation and prosecution programs inside SSA. Another step mentioned was to check earnings records of people aged 100 years or older, especially where records do not match properly. The last memo also suggests bringing back the civil monetary penalty program to punish fraud and misuse.
Also read: Social Security benefit cut: Why trustees projection on 2032 insolvency risk has beneficiaries concerned
SSA manages three main programs that support more than 70 million people in the US. The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) program gives retirement and survivor benefits, paying about $1.3 trillion in FY 2024 to around 59 million people monthly. The Disability Insurance (DI) program supports disabled workers and families, paying about $157 billion in FY 2024 to over 8 million people each month, as per the SSA data provided in the previous memorandum.
The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program helps low-income aged, blind, and disabled people, paying around $56 billion to 7.4 million recipients monthly. SSA also helps run other programs like Medicare and Medicaid through coordination with federal and state agencies.